Altered Perception
by shadow375
Summary: Ward is seeking closure, but what happens when the confession he seeks lies in the broken hands of his former rookie. Warning: rape/torture. AU To Tainted Perception that connects with the show verse. Can be read as stand alone. Written by VivaGrazia.


**PLEASE NOTE:** This was **Written** by **Vivagrazia** as an awesome birthday present for me (THANK YOU!). There are reasons why she isn't posting it, but the brilliancy is all hers!

This is an AU to the story Tainted Perception that aligns more with the show verse.

 **NOTE:** The bad guy's name is Mac, no association to the Mack from the show.

 **WARNING:** There is **Rape/T** **orture.** Please do not read if these are triggers for you! This is more intense than TP, hence the rating.

* * *

 **Altered Perception**

Why.

Why would he do this?

The simple answer is this:

Closure.

Which he'll get, when he does this. And that's all he wants. It's so simple.

Just, closure.

He plans to pick them all off, one by one. He owes each of them that. Just as he owes May the shots that reside in Kara's long-dead body.

And Skye is first.

It's appropriate, really, because he loved her. The first woman he ever felt something real towards, had been honest with. She didn't give him the light of day. And it wasn't fair. She deserves something because of it.

But that's not why she's first, technically. That's just how it worked out. She's been kidnapped for seven months and he has the resources to get to her.

Well, it was six when he'd found out.

One week to find the right contact, three days for them to give him the light of day, two weeks establishing a cover and another five days convincing them he's worth his salt.

A few more dead bodies to add to the repertoire, but it'll all be worth it.

He's a guard in the very facility she's housed in. The facility _built_ for her, for them to study this girl. She has great power and they can use it, though Ward's not entirely sure how. The guards don't have much information on specifics, but hell if they aren't thrilled with this gig.

There are 'perks', they call them. Though they're shady on the details with new employees, as they only gain these benefits once they've been around long enough to be trusted.

Ward is supposed to work up to them, but he is tired of waiting. He knows which is her cell door. He knows where she is.

He demolishes anyone in his way, slices through them like they're butter or watches bullets paint red across their clothes. He has to do this quick; for how careful he's been, he is impatient now.

He opens the door to Skye's cell, but instead of his former teammate Ward finds a man. It's the man that recruited Ward, though he hasn't seen much of him since. Mac, his name was. Ward sees his back, as his front is against the wall.

No, not against the wall. Against Skye.

She's struggling beneath him, grunts of discomfort and whimpers of pain barely making it to his ears for how quiet they are, yet Grant hears the man say "you're not making this easy on yourself with all that noise."

Ward catches Skye's eyes for a moment over the man's shoulder. They are glazed over and tired, beaten even. But with a quiet spark of determination that has not gone out completely yet.

Mac stills, suddenly. Like he's just picked up on the other presence in the room. He turns his head around.

And Ward splatters his brains across the wall with a single bullet.

Skye jumps as the bullet hits. Her heart feels like it's stopped beating only to restart at the thud of the man hitting the concrete ground.

She feels sick and relieved and horrified all at the same time, because she's staring at Coulson's body lying dead with his head half gone. But it's not Coulson, is it? Coulson wouldn't really do this to her. It's… it's the drugs. It's not Coulson.

Right?

Maybe he wasn't even shot. Maybe it's all in her head because of these _damn_ drugs that constantly whisper lies becoming easier and easier to believe.

Her head whips up to see who did what was maybe or maybe not real, and she sees him: Ward.

Skye wants to cry or maybe throw up, but she keeps a perfect mask on, just like May taught her.

 _Like they taught you,_ the weak voice inside her insists. _May told you to keep yourself alive if information wasn't at stake, not become an obedient dog._

 _May said by any means necessary,_ her agent voice insists. And any means… well, she feels like she's already done enough for them that a bit more couldn't hurt.

Ward expects her to get on the bed, she thinks, just as his _lessons_ had made clear. Coulson enjoys her against the wall, more. He likes to surprise her.

Skye glances sideways at the body. _Liked,_ would be more accurate.

 _And it's not Coulson, he's not real!_ She reminds herself. Though, does it really make a difference? These things are happening to her and that is what's real.

She's fairly certain _someone_ is lying dead on the ground.

Her face is still the mask, whether forged through their lessons or leftover from her training, she doesn't know, but emotions that should be present of just watching her Director die in front of her are not there. She is unfeeling.

Skye doesn't say a word as she works her way over to one of the stark pieces of furniture in the room: a four-poster bed. She sits down, eventually laying her head back where pillows should perhaps be. She first handcuffs her ankles to either side of the bottom of the bed. Ward may have stopped her if he wasn't in such shock. He shouldn't even be in shock, he should have been prepared for anything.

Even Skye being completely naked.

Well, not completely. Her hands and wrists are covered in some sort of gloves, presumably to keep her powers in check. He had wondered how they were controlling those, but any thoughts he had spared for her gift before are gone. Now he just wants to know how they've managed to make her so unquestioningly obedient.

Of course he _knows._ Any person will break when enough pressure is applied, he just somehow could never imagine Skye succumbing to such things.

He intended to take closure from her through whatever means necessary, but what he wanted from her was the truth. Not… whatever this is.

Ward stomps over to the bed after shaking himself from his stupor. He avoids her body and looks straight into her eyes, though he's not sure why he's so conscious about her dignity. She certainly wasn't when she shot him four times in the back.

Still, he just looks into the dimly lit orbs above her face as they stare up at the ceiling.

"Skye, we need to get out of here. Take off the cuffs."

She doesn't even spare him a glance when she speaks. "Property has no control over release," she says, and it almost sounds automatic.

What the hell have they done to her?

Of course if he were her in this situation, he'd have let autopilot take over as well. No point in sticking around if you can take yourself away.

Ward looks down (straight down to her feet and at nothing in between, not even the bite-marks and bruises that layer her skin) to observe her ankles.

He curses himself for letting her nudity catch him off-guard. They need to get out of here, and now he's dealing with handcuffs and no key in sight.

He picks the locks but by now there is an alarm blaring. Skye hasn't moved, though her brow has furrowed ever so slightly.

"Get up," he orders her in haste. She immediately swings her feet over the side of the bed to a sitting position. Her body moves in a way that he notices… things.

Alarms be damned, he can't get her out of here in this state.

He searches the room and sees a pile of clothes on the ground. When he inspects them, he realizes they are Mac's clothes. Not hers.

She doesn't even have any in here.

He picks up a shirt that should fall well past Skye's stomach and carries it over to her.

"Here," he says, holding out the garment to her.

Skye's eyes stay down and she doesn't make a move for it.

"Take the damn shirt!"

She flinches at the sound of his voice, and begins to snake out a shaky hand.

She's too slow.

He drapes the shirt over her, her arms hesitantly moving out to the sides like a toddler having help to get dressed.

"Now c'mon," he says, grabbing her wrist and beginning to pull her. She stumbles behind.

Skye doesn't know what's going on. Another fake rescue attempt, most likely. But normally they revolve around the SHIELD team. Normally they have nothing to do with Ward.

Because even _they_ know she would never believe that Ward would be the one to come save her.

Why they even disguise themselves as Ward at all is a mystery to her. Maybe because he already plagued her dark thoughts. Maybe because when Ward touches her, it's just old nightmares realizing into reality.

But even as fake as this is, it is another change in the routine. Another chance at escape.

 _Notice everything,_ May's voice whispers into her ear. It reminds her agent side of what to do after she's been suppressed for so long by the weakness telling her to give in, especially when their lesson after her last escape attempt was still engrained so fully in her mind…

But even if she _could_ find a window of opportunity she's too weak to fight. She hasn't used her powers in months. She's sleep deprived, starving and high. That's what they've done to her. They've hollowed her out and made her a shell, the blank face she wears starting to represent her entire being.

Ward's grip is tight enough to bruise. The marks will blend right in with the rest of her, so she supposes it doesn't matter.

She wonders if he's fake or real. Why bother turning Ward into a monster when he already is one? Maybe they've just hired him.

Suddenly they're outside. Skye smells air she hasn't in weeks, and she can't help but revel in it.

It takes her a few moments to realize she's stopped moving, though Ward's tugging should have alerted her quickly. Apparently she'd stalled for seconds too long because she finds herself swept up into his arms.

 _So much for notice everything._ She can't even tell if she's moving her own two feet.

Ward places her in the passenger side of a car, dropping her light form onto the front seat carefully. She feels near weightless; she's lost more than just muscle during her stay here.

The shouts of soldiers coming after them are loud, though they haven't fired on them yet. Skye's too valuable, he thinks. They built an entire facility just for her. Of course she's valuable.

You'd never guess from the drifting, blank-faced and frail figure sitting next to him.

But he makes it out. Evades them. He'd set up some remote bombs and it slows them down until he can see no sense of a tail.

So he's done it. He has her.

But this is not the girl that he was expecting, the one he knew, and it begs the question…

Now what?

*******AoS*******

"Where are you taking me?"

Ward nearly starts at the question, which is ridiculous because it's spoken with the volume of a mouse. He'd tried to ask her questions when they'd first entered the vehicle to no avail. He'd been alone with his thoughts since, thinking perhaps she was too far gone to say anything but taught phrases now.

Ward spares a glance at the girl who still wears only her abuser's shirt. She's not looking at him. She stares at her fingers that twitch ever so idly in her lap.

But the question is a good one.

"I don't know," he answers truthfully.

Because he doesn't. He wanted Skye for closure, for her to admit her sins. But this isn't the same Skye that committed those things against him. They have beaten it out of her. He thinks _this_ Skye might admit to anything he asks of her, even if she did not do it.

That's not closure. That would be… taking advantage.

Skye dares to lift her eyes high enough to peer out the window. She sees grass that's set on fire as the morning sun bathes the green with saturated orange hues. It's the most beautiful sight that her eyes have taken in in far too long and it gives her courage to use her voice again, though it probably isn't smart.

But what will it cost her, really? If she does not slip up they will make up a situation and punish her for something she didn't even do.

Still… to pretend as though she thinks this _is_ Ward will keep the charade going on longer. Which means less pain. Or at the very least, delay it.

If she uses her voice, she must choose her questions carefully. She must make sure they believe she thinks she's truly rescued.

"Why did you save me?" she asks.

 _Closure_ , the answer rings through his head immediately, as it takes up presence in his thoughts more often then not since Kara's death. Though instead, he says, "there's a lot we've never talked about. We need to have a conversation."

Skye could have laughed if any sense of humor hadn't been ripped away from her. That sure was a hell of a lot of trouble to go through to grab her for a conversation.

But something inside of her nags at the words. The nagging says it's only an answer worthy enough… _skewed_ enough to think it's an appropriate response for the _real_ Ward.

So, her conclusions: maybe it's the fake Ward, and the facility has drummed up a new faux rescue attempt. Usually it's about false hope before they rip it out from under her. Though, since this is someone they know to be a Hydra traitor, maybe it's just a new way to make her suffer, letting her think she's escaped the facility only to fall into _his_ hands.

But there's no way to heighten the suffering she's already been dealt. Playing along only keeps her alive, there is no lessening the blow in that place.

Which brings her to possibility two: it's the real Ward. Come to take what he tried to take from Bobbi and then drop Skye's dead body in the bottom of a river.

Skye can't suffer anymore than she has been, and death would be welcome at this point. What good is she to SHIELD now? She cannot lead the Caterpillars in this condition.

She's a burden just as she was when her powers first manifested. And as much as May taught her to give in and endure so she'd last longer and make it out alive, Skye feels as though she doesn't have it in her to be fixed.

So she lays her chin on the car window, accepting this fate. Letting Ward take her where he will.

And she hopes it's nowhere near SHIELD. To let them see her in this state… it would take the last sliver of pride that facility left her with.

*******AoS*******

Skye stays silent once she's voiced her two questions. Questions that he'd admittedly given rather ominous answers to.

If she cares that Ward's plan was to take her to a safe house and use whatever means necessary to gain closure, she doesn't show fear or anticipation of it. He thinks that perhaps she's lying in wait, as she had been so silent just before shooting him. But this is different. She is not plotting, she is accepting.

It's not entirely ridiculous as it's clear to him and, therefore her as well, that she is too weak to have even a prayer of matching up to him, but her admission of such is not something he would have foreseen.

Ward's not an idiot. He didn't think they had Skye kidnapped for months to have tea parties with her. But he'd assumed experiments, as they'd done on Deathlok and that gifted they'd saved from List. He didn't expect her mind to be broken. He didn't expect them to _rape_ her.

Maybe he is an idiot. Just because he doesn't participate doesn't mean that he hasn't heard of female prisoners getting tasted. Sometimes it even happens to the men.

So why it matters, he really doesn't know. He was prepared to torture Skye in order to gain closure from her, if it came to that. If she were brainwashed, he would have completed any steps necessary in order to rid her of it so she could admit what she's done with complete awareness.

He doesn't think this can be undone.

Maybe it's because he never thought Skye deserved psychological abuse. She deserved to atone for her sins, through plain admission, just pain or even death, but she doesn't deserve mind manipulation. No one deserves that.

Ward didn't deserve that, and he knows how it feels.

Wounds heal. Death is an escape. To be trapped in one's own mind… It's not something he'd wish on anybody.

So there's much more kindness in his voice than he'd planned once he opens the passenger door and tells her to move. When she obeys dutifully, he leads her passed the room with handcuffs and various instruments he'd intended to have to carry her screaming or unconscious form into.

Her steps move with caution, frailty and exhaustion; just by the fact that she didn't allow herself to fall asleep in the car tells him there's a spark of Skye's old fight left in her.

He takes her to the master bedroom. The room he had prepped for himself.

"Sit on the bed," he orders, and doesn't miss the flinch and shudder that run through her at the sound. She walks to the mattress and sits as though it is made of pins.

Ward doesn't care about that tiny discomfort. He doesn't.

She's still here for a purpose… despite that he may have to carry it out a little differently now.

He opens a drawer on the dresser and rifles through the clothes within it. "Here," he says, throwing the sweatpants onto the bed. "Put those on."

 _He's being too nice_ , Skye thinks. _This has to be a fake rescue._

But then the real Ward… he always thought he was doing the right thing, despite how massively wrong he was. _Or_ he'd just been spouting bullshit to try and make fools out of them once again.

How can Skye spot if this is fake or not when she doesn't know the real Ward in the first place?

 _It doesn't matter,_ the voice in her says. _Whatever happens, happens. You're used up anyway. There's no point to you, at the facility or out._

 _But I don't want the pain anymore,_ she thinks back.

She's shocked at her own cowardice. And here she thought the first voice was the weak one… maybe it's just her inner agent, beaten down.

"Put on the pants," Ward pronounces, like he doesn't think she's registered what he's said. It makes sense. She hasn't moved, and the garment lies limply in her palm. "When you're done, come find me in the kitchen."

Skye nods barely.

She's not even sure if that's correct anymore. Punishment for answering, punishment for leaving them hanging. God forbid she hadn't passed by the kitchen on the way in here or she could be hurt for going the wrong direction on the way there.

But if these _are_ the facility people, they won't risk punishing her so quickly while they're trying to trick her. Still, her responses to try and please them are automatic now.

Skye doesn't dare to take too long pulling on the sweats and walks into the kitchen a mere minute after Ward. She wishes he could have given her a different shirt too, but asking for one is something else she'd never dream of doing.

Ward looks at her expectantly from the kitchen table.

"Sit," he tells her, motioning to an empty seat across from himself. She does.

Orders are easy. Orders are to be followed. But when they ask questions… it becomes more difficult. They've taught her not to speak. Direct questions are different sometimes; because of the first rule she never knows if they want her to stay quiet or answer. It's a matter of chance which one they want.

She never gets it right.

Skye won't meet his eyes. They fall to her lap as soon as she situates herself into the wooden chair.

"You asked me why I saved you and I said to have a conversation," Ward says. "Do you know why?"

Skye hesitates, then shakes her head the smallest amount possible.

"C'mon Skye, think. What's between us that I could want you for?"

He says the words so gently. This is not what he imagined at all. He didn't imagine a cowering girl, flinching every time he raises his voice above a whisper. He wants the SHIELD agent that shot him to admit her wrongdoing.

But it is the same girl. Whether she looks or acts it, they're one in the same. And they both did that to Ward. So he'll continue, even if he goes softer than planned. If she can think of it on her own, he's not taking advantage of the state she's in, in which she'd probably admit the world's crimes as her own.

"Property is to be used in many ways," she says quickly.

That floors him.

"Jesus…" Ward shakes his head, now deciding he can no longer be harsh on this pathetic creature. In some ways she is a product of circumstance just as much as he is.

The decision made moments earlier of taking pity is ironic, as the next words are bit out with more incredulity than he intended.

"Are you being serious?"

Skye jerks like she's been hit.

There's disbelief… _disgust_ at the comment. _Ward's_ disgusted with her.

She's not surprised, but she is shocked at how much disappointment it brings her. And she can't answer. Not out loud.

Skye starts to tremble, or perhaps it's only a shiver as she does it for a few moments and then stills again.

 _They've trained her well,_ Ward notes. Any admission is not done by her remorse, it would be through automatic responses.

But he still wants his closure.

He'll heal her first.

He doesn't have to hurt her once he does, but hopefully he can get the truth out of her. She won't ever be back to the way she was, that's clear by the near sight of her. But he could get her somewhere near lucid in the next few weeks.

Lucid…

Ward tramps over and looks into her dead, dilated eyes and she goes stiff.

He sighs, goes into the kitchen and fills up a glass of water. He sets it down in front of her when he returns, though she makes no move for it.

"You can drink that," Ward tells her.

She's suspicious at first, merely because it's not a bowl. But then she remembers this is a fake rescue, and they don't treat her like a dog during those. And if it's Ward… well, poison is an easy way to kill someone.

But Skye knows he has the means and most likely the want to do _that_ in more satisfying ways.

So she drinks, and it's the most satisfying taste of crappy well water that's ever coated her throat. The fact that she's permitted to drink so much at once is… invigorating.

Ward sits back down, satisfied that she's started drinking the water enough to stop hovering over her.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions, ok?" he says, speaking as mildly as possible, to avoid spooking her like a wild animal. She doesn't acknowledge him. She stares down. At the moment, she doesn't appear scared or wary. She just looks tired… like she wants to be done with everything.

"So what do the drugs do, specifically?" he asks conversationally.

It takes all the effort she has to look up to his chin. She can't take in his eyes quite yet, though she's determined to try and be as brave as she can here, even if it means taking some punishment later. Because if this really _is_ Ward…

She couldn't forgive herself for being submissive. It was something she vowed a long time ago, and something that got her into a lot of trouble the first few weeks at the facility.

"They make me feel… more intensely," she says unsurely, hating how small her voice is but aware it's the most she has in her for now. "Stuff that shouldn't hurt does, and small pains are… agonizing."

They're more words than she's said at once in months. She waits for the man to lose it and blow his cover, take her right there.

He doesn't. Actually, it seems like he's waiting for her to continue. Like he knows there's more to it.

And oh, is there more to it.

"They also… alter what I see? Think too, maybe…"

She trails off, letting her eyes wander to the side as she reflects on how well the drugs did their job. She saw Coulson, Ward, Simmons, Hunter, Bobbi… all of them. And though in her heart she knew it was drugs, there were moments when she just couldn't get her mind to agree.

"Hey," Ward's gentle voice brings her back. "What did they make you see?"

"You," Skye answers right away. "All of you. The SHIELD team too, I mean," she says hurriedly, realizing her mistake of including Ward with everyone else. It's just something that's become second nature since her time at the facility. It's _them_ against _her._ There's no middle ground. "Coulson- Coulson was the one you shot."

That makes Ward recoil with shock.

To her it was… _Coulson_ doing that to her?

And Ward thought he was creative with torture. But mind games… they don't sit well with him.

"So Coulson's…" Skye has to gulp down the lump in her throat to continue, "he's really dead?"

"Yes, considering I doubt anyone could survive that shot… but that definitely wasn't Coulson."

Skye's chest tightens before if finally allows the relief to flood in. He's just confirmed what her mind was always trying to convince her of: that it wasn't really them.

And he's dead.

As much relief it gives her, there's a part of Skye that wishes it could have lasted longer. She wishes that he wasn't… _with_ her for his last moments.

But he'll never touch her again. And that's a truth she can revel in.

Or would, if they hadn't instilled doubt into her mind to never trust anything her senses tell her anymore.

"They made him look like you, first," Skye says, her voice scarce more than a whisper. "And I had no doubt… I thought you were just working for them."

Why's she telling him this. No good can come of this. She's going to get punished later if it's not really him and if it is… he'll probably be mad at her for accepting that he's evil. God knows what he'll do with her when she can't fight back.

If only she could get the gloves off… no matter how weak she is, her powers could help her.

But she doubts even Ward alone could relieve her of them. She needs Fitz, or someone like him. She needs SHIELD.

Her eyes have made their way back to her hands, but she risks a look up to see if she's angered him.

Just a blank face stares back at her.

It does anger him, though. He's never done anything that would point to such behavior, why would she think… well, he supposes if there were drugs involved it could happen.

But if she saw Coulson first? Drugs or any other excuse in the book would be the first thing to pop into her head.

"Please don't take me back," Skye whispers, pleading.

"I won't," Ward promises. For whatever he's going to do with her, no options involve delivering her back to those people. "No one deserves that place."

"Not there," Skye says softly, after a brief moment to consider saying anything at all. "To Coulson."

He's taken aback. "Why?" he states more harshly than intended.

She recoils instantly, her voice taking a temporary leave. Ward takes advantage of the silence (though makes a mental note not to do so often; it would be all too easy with this girl now). But he knows why.

She's scared of his rejection.

"You're right not to go back there," he says, her eyes going wide as he confirms her fears. "Coulson obviously doesn't care about circumstance. I made decisions based on horrible situations I'd been put through, but still, they were my own. What there's no excuse for is how SHIELD handled Kara."

Skye hadn't been there for much of that. She knew they were taking precautions with Agent 33, as she had been brainwashed, but surely they were trying to help make her better.

"Coulson didn't send out a team to rescue her. She did _nothing_ wrong, except put her loyalty in the wrong people. She had her mind wiped away because a SHIELD agent sold her out, and SHIELD branded her the enemy without so much as attempting to help her."

That much was true. Kara had been a lost cause once she started aiding Hydra; there was too much else to think about.

"And then," Ward swallows hard as he continues, "she died. Because she was trying to fix herself."

 _By torturing someone,_ Skye thinks. At that point she was supposed to be her old self. Bobbi had made the right call… and Kara should have known that. If the girl had issues, she should have brought them up to the agent. Not kidnapped her with the intention to torture to death.

Then Skye realizes.

"You have me… for the same reason?" she asks.

Ward bristles. "I'm doing this so you can admit what you've done. For closure."

"Bobbi said that's what you called it," she mumbles tiredly, and then claps a hand over her mouth in realization. "I'm sorry," she quickly tries to amend, but the man before her is angry now. Her eyes bolt to the floor immediately and she prays to her non-existent god.

"What do you want me to say, Skye?" Ward asks, his tone becoming more flustered. _That I brought you here to see the truth but you're already too broken?_

She doesn't say anything and he finds himself continuing.

"You… you deserve to admit what you've done. There was no reason to shoot me, to not give me a chance when I'd been put through... hell." He appraises her. "Maybe you'll understand now that you were trapped with abusers too."

It's a low blow with wounds so fresh, though she acts as though she hadn't even heard it.

Or… yes she does. It's barely noticeable, but her breathing quickens. Her skin vibrates as she fends off shaking, fends off tears.

"Oh, Skye, no don't… do that."

But she does "do that". She's obviously trying to keep it in check, but her wide eyes are showing just how off the handle she's quickly becoming.

What the hell is he supposed to do with someone who despises him having a panic attack?

Her eyes dart around the room as her breathing swiftly becomes erratic, as though she's looking for escape but forces herself to stay put. She winces her eyes shut, tugging on the shirt she wears so much the buttons start to pop off.

He can't do this.

Ward gets up abruptly, though Skye can't give a care to where he's going. Her mind is swimming with memories, the fabric on the very shirt on her own back scraping up against her, the warm unwelcome body that came with it –

"Hey!" Ward shouts in front of her, the volume making her realize it was not the first attempt to call her attention. "You can put this on."

Skye grabs the black shirt in haste. She doesn't care about anything else, she just needs Coulson's shirt off of her back. So she rips it off and replaces it even as Ward stands in front of her, though she notices his rushed attempt to turn around.

Skye feels herself well up with calm at the mere texture of the new piece of clothing. The fabric on Ward's shirt is stretchy and smooth, a much simpler tolerance than Coulson's scratchy button down.

"I'm sorry, that was wrong of me to say," he says, his back still to her.

 _Am I supposed to feel closure now?_ she thinks begrudgingly at his apology, but doesn't have the gall to say anymore. She's said too much already.

He sighs. "And you didn't deserve what happened to you."

Skye dares to look up and finally meets his eyes. Yet, she still can't bring herself to not hate him. He saved her, and her mind is grateful for the saving. But not to him. He brought her here to be hurt, to confess her sins that were not real. For as much as the facility has taught her things are her fault, she's always held onto the belief that she'd never done anything to Grant Ward.

There's a gentleness there, though. Something changed in the last few minutes at the rough state she'd been in. There's a sense of… understanding.

Then suddenly, Ward is walking to the door. Despite her training to remain silent, Skye finds herself asking the incomplete question, "where are you…?"

Ward stops. "I just texted Coulson your location. He'll be here soon, but I plan to be long gone."

Skye's brow furrows. _Why?_

He reads the question off her face. "Because you deserve a chance Skye. What happened to you wasn't your fault, and, well, we both know Coulson will give you the chance he didn't give me. If you take it… you could be alright."

He says could be, because no, Ward doesn't know if he would have gotten better. Maybe he is too far-gone, maybe a second chance would have been wasted on him. But they didn't let him try, and he deserves something for that loss.

Maybe this will help Skye see what he is. What he could have been, if they'd only let him.

And that's all he needs. He doesn't need to hurt Skye, they've done more than enough of that for her lifetime. He just wants her understanding. And maybe he'll never know if she gets it, but this is the best chance at showing her. He thinks, after what she's been through, maybe she really will understand.

Maybe, after what she'd been through, she deserves closure for herself as well.

Which is what gives _him_ closure when he walks out that door.

His absence is then what gives Skye the license to cry. Cry for what she's been through, lost, and this most likely wistful hope that someone is going to come through that door and take her home. She's in the middle of the woods anyhow, so all she can do is wait.

Coulson does come. The real Coulson, though she doesn't know that. She questions it for weeks, and without her resolve to hate Ward along with the adrenaline during her first moments of rescue out of the way, she is much worse off. Basic speaking is off the table at first.

But her team works with her so hard. They are patient and perfect. She will never be what she was, but she is getting better with the help of her family. They teach her to trust and they teach her she doesn't have to be a burden. And once the gloves are off they help her to control her powers all over again, even with her panic attacks and turbulent emotions.

Skye may never understand why Ward let her go. Through good in his heart or just seeing that enough damage had been done, or perhaps thinking she could relate to him now so much that he took pity.

Coulson had seen enough good in him to offer him TAHITI as he had with Cal. To move passed what he'd done, but he didn't take it. He chose this new path and if it's drawn in blood, there's no one to blame but himself. Even if some of that blame rested on her shoulders for not giving him a chance the first time.

Skye doesn't know how he thinks. Why he cares or what truly lies in his heart.

But he got her out of there and back to her family. And as confused as she is about his intentions, she finds it hard to flat out hate him after that.

So she doesn't.

And maybe that's her own closure.

* * *

 **Not the author AN:** _Awesome, right_? Please take a second to review and let her know what you thought!

Again, Written by **VivaGrazia!**


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